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Last summer, Rethink Robotics GmbH, a subsidiary of the Hahn Group in Germany, moved into its new headquarters and production facility in Bochum, very close to the “learning factory” of the chair for production systems at Ruhr University in the same city. Rethink Robotics was originally an American cobot supplier and was acquired by Hahn in 2018. Hahn’s multiple robotics and automation brands are represented here by Hahn Plastics Automation in Windsor, Conn.

The new Rethink facility employs 30 and forms part of the new Hahn Group Technology Center. In addition, a minority stake in Rethink Robotics was acquired by Siemens Technology Accelerator, and a development cooperation has been initiated between Rethink and Siemens Corporate Technology. The two firms are working to optimize Siemens control hardware to work with Intera software from Rethink Robotics. “With the technology from Siemens, we are getting closer to the start of a new series of robots very quickly and will be presenting a first prototype in spring 2021,” says Daniel Bunse, CEO of Rethink Robotics. At K 2019, Hahn exhibited Rethink’s new Sawyer Black cobot (pictured) with upgraded hardware, quieter operation and larger payload capacity (see Dec. ’19 Starting Up).